


Light In Dark Circumstances

by AbsinthexMind



Series: Oh brother where art thou [51]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Broken Promises, Brother/Sister Incest, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Death, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Incest, Kings & Queens, Murder, Queen in the North, Red Wedding, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-04-21 08:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22054348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsinthexMind/pseuds/AbsinthexMind
Summary: Old Tumblr RequestYou saved your brother from the jaws of the Red Wedding. Fleeing back to Riverrun, you wait to see if the King in the North is to survive his many wounds all while your Uncle Brynden suggests that it's time for not a king but a queen.
Relationships: Robb Stark/Reader, Talisa Maegyr/Robb Stark
Series: Oh brother where art thou [51]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/501493
Comments: 7
Kudos: 111





	Light In Dark Circumstances

Touch and go in the beginning, many didn’t believe your brother would survive. Death had looked to claim him but you refused to give him up to the Stranger. Night after night you sat vigil, keeping close watch over your wounded brother. Deep in your heart was a voice you didn’t want to listen to: that Robb would indeed die. You shook at the thought. Already having lost so much, you didn’t want to lose your brother. 

Fingers that couldn’t still themselves, you brush them against his fevered cheek. Sick from the wounds he had been dealt. Beneath his eyelids you could detect eye movement. “Stay with me, Robb. Please. Stay with me.” Your words echo through the otherwise empty room. You and the rest of Robb’s army had fought tooth and nail to get Robb out of the Twins. Half of Robb’s men and yourself were waiting outside of the Crossing as the two direwolves seemed insistent on staying in the forest. Something was wrong. You felt it in your belly. Storm and Greywind paced incessantly around, looking to the tall towers with whimpers. Then the screams. Those horrible, nightmarish screams that had followed you back to Riverrun. Screams and the sickening metallic scent of blood and death. 

You reach over your shoulder, feeling the sting of where the arrow had struck you. You would have gladly taken much more to save your brother. 

The creak of the great oaken door to your room makes you look up to find your towering Uncle Brynden. With Edmure taken captive by the Freys, Brynden was Lord of Riverrun for the time being. 

His face was grim as he entered the room, silent as if the Stranger was sitting next to you. 

“Uncle. . .” You whisper while wiping your tear-stained eyes. They were most likely puffy and tender to the touch. 

“You should sleep. Get some rest. You’ve been through enough.” Brynden eyes you with familial concern that has you trying to muster a tired smile. 

Pushing away your (h/c) bangs you reply “I’ll be fine. I want to be here in case anything happens. . .” When you look up into your uncle’s blue eyes, a startling image of your mother slams into you. Her throat slit. Instantly your eyes dart away. You clam up and silence returns. Not even Robb’s soft breathing could be heard. If he woke up. . . What would you tell him? How could you possibly begin to explain all that had happened at Edmure’s wedding. His pregnant wife, dead as was plenty of his closest men. Oh how you and your mother had warned him against marrying Talisa, that Walder Frey would feel scorned. 

The infamous Blackfish of Riverrun sighs. “(y/n), the maester says it's very unlikely that he’ll survive. The handful of men that survived want to return to their respective houses. As far as anyone is aware. . . the king in the north is dead. His campaign is over.” 

You watched your unconscious brother, the small, labored, rise and fall of his bandaged chest. He was still so young. The both of you were. Young and stupid. So incredibly stupid. 

“I know you love him, but you need to think of yourself now. Think of the remaining family you have left. Sansa is still held captive in King’s Landing, Bran and Rickon in Winterfell. . . They need you.” 

“Like you said, the king in the north is dead. I can’t do anything without Robb.” He was your everything, always had been since the two of you were carefree children. You didn’t want to think of living in a world without your brother.

“That’s not true. Lay low for a while. Do what you can to make things right.” 

“How could I do that? Theon Greyjoy has Winterfell and Joffrey has a legion of men that would crush me.” 

Brynden wouldn’t have it though. “You were the smartest strategist Robb ever had. Were you not the one he trusted the most?” 

Glancing up, your voice cracked as you replied. “I can’t lead an army, Uncle. For numerous reasons but above all the northern men would never follow a woman.” 

“When have the opinions of other lords ever stopped you?” He countered. His determination surprised you. Brynden hadn’t been too enthusiastic about the war to begin with. Only inserting himself in it for all his niece Catelyn had suffered. The Tullys honored family above all else. Of course he would gladly fight in Robb’s war. To be so insistent on you continuing what your brother had started. . . that was another thing. “Did you let them stop you from following Robb into battle?” 

You shake your head, thinking back to that brave girl you had once been. “Of course not. . .” 

“It will take time to rebuild your army, but once they find out you are still alive and willing to take back Winterfell, home of the Starks for thousands of years, the others will follow. You will learn from Robb’s mistakes and take action to mend the damage he had caused. You have the perfect balance of Ned and Cat in you.” 

As much as you wanted to be uplifted by his words, you couldn’t. You were tired and broken. The thought of another war simply drained you. 

Sensing your diminishing spirit, Brynden lowers his gaze and sighs. “Give it some thought. A decision like this shouldn’t be rushed. Something that Robb should have considered. You’re safe here for the meantime. Mend and get some rest.” 

“Thank you, Uncle. For everything.” 

“(y. . .y/n)?” 

Both you and Uncle Brynden immediately stare at Robb. His lips move stiffly as he started shifting the position of his head. Eyelids flutter until you make out a hint of Tully blue. 

Your heart slammed in your chest. “Robb! Thank the Mother!” 

Hand weighing as heavy as lead, Robb struggles to lift it up but you brag at it and bring it to your lips. Uncle Brynden is already calling for the maester. Robb’s eyes are clouded, hazed over in delirium but he’s able to see you clearly making him grin lazily. Your name was the only thing leaving his lips. Chanting it like it was making him stronger. 

“My queen.” Robb murmurs making you blush and worriedly flick your sight to your uncle. He had heard. Hopefully he would assume Robb was talking about Talisa. 

How could he possibly connect that Robb was talking about you?  
**  
  


You had left the hall, still hearing the cheers from the big northern men. 

“King in the North! King in the North!” 

Catelyn had appeared equally horrified but didn’t say a word. Those men had chosen your brother as their king. And your brother had willingly accepted it. The next battle he would be in, Robb wouldn’t just be Lord Stark. He would be king. A bigger target. A bigger threat. 

Fear twisted your belly in knots. 

In front of you your breath puffed out from your mouth in a small cloud. Chilled to the bone yet you felt nothing as you continued to listen to cheers and merriment. 

Your father would not have wanted this. Ned would have done everything in his power to prevent this. He was no longer alive. 

“Why did you leave so soon?” A cheery voice asked, louder than the boisterous guffaws in the background. 

Robb stood behind you, blood in his cheeks. “King in the North, huh?” 

His face falls. “You do not approve?” 

“This changes everything Robb. Did you even bother to think what it would do to. . . To us?” Quieter on the last part, you stare into your brother’s eyes; watching as the realization kicked in. He hadn’t thought at all. 

“It. . . It just happened so fast. . .” Robb whispers, eyes widened slightly. ‘I’m sure it won’t change us much.” Trying to manage a smile, it failed the more you held his gaze. 

“We can’t be together. Not like we are now.” What you needed to be for Robb was just a supportive sister. Not a lover. “Being king, you’ll have to wed someone. Perhaps to make an alliance if necessary. The same goes for me. If need be, you’ll have to marry me off too.” 

Robb’s eyes flamed. “No. Never.” 

You could only chuckle at his loyalty and jealousy. “Yes, you may have to. You’re not just mine anymore. You belong to the north.” 

“I can never give you up.” He’s advancing closer to you where you could feel the warmth radiating off of him. “Please don’t ask that of me.” 

“You have to choose someone who is not your sister to be your queen. Otherwise all that you are about to do will be for nothing if someone happens to find out.” What was good for the north wouldn’t always necessarily be good for you. 

Robb fell silent, unable to argue back. “Why do you always have to be the responsible one. . .” 

It wasn’t easy in the beginning. Staying away from Robb romantically. You had to stick to your words though and not slip. 

They proved to be true as you looked for passage from Walder Frey. In return for safe passage through the Crossing, Robb had to marry one of Walder’s daughters. 

You couldn’t stop him from meeting Talisa though. How could you tell him he can’t be with someone. Even though this new relationship posed even more of a threat. Much to your anger, Robb forsake his promise to take Talisa as his bride. 

Bringing down the end of his reign.  
**  


“You side with Uncle Brynden then.” 

Days later when Robb’s color has returned to his face, he brought up what the Blackfish had proposed to you. 

“I made a lot of mistakes. You have always been the voice of reason. Maybe if I had listened to you we would have been spared.” Reflects Robb. “Maybe our situation isn’t as bad as it seems.” 

“Our mother is dead. Your wife and unborn child, murdered. Many of our northern army has been wiped out. How can any of this be good?” 

Sadness in his face as he remembered his wife and their unborn baby. “I can finally have you as my queen.” That lazy grin returns, charming you all over again. He still loved you, as you did with him. “Unlike me you’ll be smarter about everything.” 

Fire crackled in the background. You help Robb sit up. “You were young. Young, stupid, and naive. I just did what I thought father would have done.” Sighing, you check his wounds; unraveling the gauze that had been tightly bound around his chest. “Your queen, huh? You really think I can do it?” 

He stops your hands from moving, holding them in his grasp. Warm, his hands were always warm. It took you back to Winterfell when the two of you were just children playing in the snow. “I know you can.” 

You smile. “Then will you be my king once I win this war?” 

“No one’s here to stop me. When you win the war and reclaim the north, I will be your king.”


End file.
